Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani- Kachi Style

The first thing that comes across your mind when you hear the name Biryani is none other than the world famous Hyderabadi Biryani. The aroma from the saffron  is a treat to our noses whereas the beautiful Biryani is a treat to our eyes and when you eat the succulent pieces of meat it is a sure treat to our whole body. Each grain in the biryani is seperate n the mutton is so soft that it melts in your mouth.

There are two types of Hyderabadi Biryani - Kachi Style and Pakki style. Kachi syle is prepared by marinating the meat with spices and yoghurt overnight and half cooked rice is placed on top of the raw meat and cooked in dum. Whereas Pakki Style is like our normal biryani only.

   Wanted to make this famous hyderabadi mutton biryani in kachi style, but never had the courage to do. My hubby then encouraged me to make them and the result was delicious biryani !! Our house was filled with the beautiful aroma of the biryani when I made. and I think I succeeded in making the biryani in my first trial. Now this is our fav biryani and will try them with different meat in the future.

This is the perfect biryani if you are hosting parties coz you can make the marination the day before n make biryani the next day, no need to fry anything you just need to assemble the dish n dum cook, giving you more time to do n the day of party n with no tension your main course is perfectly done.

Since marinating the meat the day before gives you succulent n juicy pieces of mutton when you prepare them.

 This recipe serves for 3-4 people. If you are making for a party just increase the quantity accordingly usually it is 1kg mutton to 750 gms Basmati rice.

Sending this delicious Biryani to Valentine Fest - served with love hosted in Sizzling Taste Buds. Now lets move to the recipe

You need:

Mutton-    500gms

Basmati Rice -   400gms

Onions  -    500gms

Ginger Paste-   3tbsp

Garlic Paste -  1/2tbsp

Green Chilli -  3-4nos

Peppercorns-   3-4nos

Green Cardamom -  2nos
Black Cardamom  -2nos
Javitri  -2nos

Bay leaves -  2nos

Shahijeera- 1/2tbsp

Jeera- 1/2tbsp

Chilly powder -  1tbsp

Cinnamon - 1/2" piece

Cloves - 2nos

Yoghurt(drained) - 1cup

Meat tenderizer -  1tsp

Juice of 1 lemon

Coriander leaves - 1/2bunch(chopped)

Pudina  leaves -   4-5leaves (chopped)

Garam masala powder -  1tbsp

Ghee -   50gms

Oil - 100gms

Saffron a small pinch dissolved in milk.

Salt to taste

Yellow food colouring a small pinch

Preparation:

Make onion Birasta(  see note)

Clean and wash the mutton pieces. Marinate with curd,onion birasta, chilly powder,Ginger and Ginger paste, Green Chilli, garam masala powder, coriander leaves, pudina leaves, salt, meat tenderizer and lemon juice. Check for salt and lemon because you cannot alter them after you keep in dum.Marinate for atleast 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.Bring the meat to room temperature before making biryani

Wash the rice twice and soak for 30 minutes. In a large vessel boil  enough water  with salt, 1 tbsp oil, cardamon( green & black), 1javitri, 1 bay leaf, 3 peppercorns. Add the rice and parboil. The rice should be only 50% cooked. Drain them. Retain the hot water to keep dum.

Once the rice is cooked start making the biryani. In a heavy bottomed and wide mouthed pan heat the oil and the ghee, add shahi jeera, jeera and the rest of the whole garam masalas. Fry for about 30 seconds add the marinated meat and spread them. Add the Parboiled rice and spread them to cover the meat. Sprinlke saffron milk. Dissolve a small pinch of yellow food colouring in 1 tsp water and sprinke .

Knead a small amount of soft dough with wheat flour. Seal the edges of the pan and cover with this dough.

You can also cover them tight with Aluminium Foil and place the cover. Keep a heavy pan on top, I usually keep a vessel and pour the retained hot water for dum. If you are lucky to get charcoal, place hot charcoals on top (this will ensure that there is heat on top and cook the biryani top and bottom)

 If you are not using heavy bottomed pan place a iron tawa on the stove n keep the pan on top.

Keep the stove in medium heat for 10 minutes and then in simmer to the lowest heat and cook on Dum for 45 minutes approx.

The time differs depending on the type of meat  for me it took 45 minutes to prepare the biryani. Always try the biryani in small batch and ensure the time taken for the meat to get cooked, This will be helpful for you to calculate the timing when you are making a big batch. Remove the cooked dough and just check for whether the mutton is cooked well. Do not mix the rice as this will break the rice grains.

Yummy and delicious Biryani is now ready to eat.

Note:

Birasta:

Thinly slice the onions and dry them in the sun for 2 days, turning them over 2-3 times a day. Alternatively you can place them on an absorbent paper and remove the miosture.

Heat oil in a kadai, the oil should be smoking hot. Lower the flame and add the onions, increase the heat and add 1/2 tsp salt. fry the onions golden brown, Drain them. Birasta can be made and stored in an airtight container .